Pullman Schools Place Three Measures On Ballot Operations Levy, Middle-School Remodeling And Computer Upgrades At Issue
Pullman residents Tuesday face three major school measures to maintain current operations, reconstruct Lincoln Middle School and improve technology district-wide.
Voters in Colfax, Garfield, Palouse and Steptoe also are being asked to support school levies.
In Pullman, voters face the following three ballot issues:
A maintenance and operations levy that would collect $3.2 million for 2001 and $3.25 million for 2002, in order to maintain current programs, reduce class sizes and expand curriculum.
A $15.6 million facilities master plan bond to reconstruct 40-year-old Lincoln Middle School. This measure also includes $200,000 in safety renovations to Pullman High School.
A six-year, $1.2 million technology levy that would update infrastructure, buy a new library automation system, build new computer labs at each school, with two at PHS, and put a new computer in each classroom or office.
If all three measures pass, Pullman residents would pay an additional $1.29 per $1,000 assessed value on top of current taxes.
School board member Claudia Peavy acknowledges it’s a lot to ask, but said it was cost-effective to put all three proposals on the presidential primary ballot.
“It’s a difficult thing to do because the total price tag is kind of scary, but we’re being up front and honest about our needs,” Peavy said.
After levies failed in 1990 and 1991, Pullman voters recently have been more supportive. Remodeling and expansion of Sunnyside Elementary School was approved in 1992, followed by bonds in 1995 to rebuild Franklin Elementary and extensively modernize Jefferson Elementary.
“We need to do this in steps,” Peavy said. “Lincoln is the next step and people remember that.”
The $15.6 million bond will allow Lincoln to be reconstructed without displacing students. Construction would go on adjacent to the school, with older sections demolished and replaced with playing fields as the new wings are completed.
If passed, the school would have a new library, gymnasium and four new classroom wings, plus space for student socializing, which is lacking now.
“Everything we know about good middle school programs - this building doesn’t let us do these things,” said Pullman School District Superintendent Doug Nelson during a recent tour.
Currently, students eat lunch in the gym, which creates chaos and has forced the district to limit PE classes to just one semester.
Parents also have expressed safety concerns about heaves in the floor that occasionally appear in the gym. The ceiling is too low for volleyball, and many sports programs must practice at nearby elementary schools because Lincoln lacks sufficient space.
“That’s been a number one concern of students,” said Linda Chalich, co-chair of the citizens committee promoting the measures. “They want to be at their school.”
“Our programs are booming,” said Lincoln Middle School Principal Bill Motsenbocker. “You want your elective programs to grow but we are at capacity.”
District officials said 1,466 yes votes are needed for the measures to pass with the necessary 60 percent Tuesday.
For more information contact the district at (509) 332-3581 or for other Whitman County town measures, contact the auditor’s office at (509) 397-6270.
Whitman County polls are open until 8 p.m.